Saturday 2nd. April 2016

Once again this year , the Long-tailed Tits on the Common started building their nest .

Slowly but surely , their work of art grew .

Until , after just over two weeks , the nest was completed .

Two days later , it was ripped open and abandoned . The culprits , probably the flock of 5/6 Jays that are constantly seen in the area .

Also seen on site , Comma ( pictured ) , along with Brimstone and Peacock  and the first Bee-fly /

Bombylius major , seen this year . A visit to the area around Bough Beech Reservoir wasn't very productive

but \I did come across this skull of a small mammal , which would appear to be that of a small rabbit ,

and under the feeders , the Bank Voles were busy collecting and fallen morsels .

A look around High Elms LNR found the first few Butterbur / Petasites hybridus , a member of the Daisy family and closely related to Winter Helliotrope , just pushing through . On a roadside verge , the Green

Hellbore / Helleborus viridus , a member of the Buttercup family , were found already in flower . Next week will mark the start of the weekly butterfly transect here .

On a visit to Elmley Reserve , I was closely watched as I entered by this Little Owl .

All the species seemed geared up for breeding , including this male Pheasant in his finery .

Fewer Lapwing were seen along the track , probably due to nesting , which meant that the partner's job was to deter the Marsh Harriers who were looking for an easy meal .

I spent a long time watching and trying to photograph the Brown Hares again , this time out in the open but

distant from the track , and couldn't believe my luck when I witnessed another bout of boxing . Who says lightning doesn't strike twice ? With sightings going quiet , I headed for Capel Fleet . On the slow run down

to the raptor viewpoint , a male Kestrel posed just long enough on the wires , and below amongst the

 brambles , a small flock of Corn Bunting were keeping in touch with each other , 'jingling their keys' .  With

them was a single male Reed Bunting . From the view point , I had a distant view of a raptor and initially thought it was a ring-tailed Hen Harrier , but as it got closer it's true ID beacame evident , a Common

Buzzard with an unusually pale rump . As it flew towards the Fleet , it joined a second bird and for a moment

I thought I was in for some talon grappling , but it didn't quite happen this time . On the return , a male Linnet

was singing , perched on the roadside fence , a pair of Red-legged Partridge were sheltering in the brick

ruins , a probable male Wheatear that flew off a fencepost before I could get the binoculars on it , and both

sides of the road , lots of newly born lambs , including several almost black individuals . A look at Shellness proved very quiet , but the tide was still well out so not surprising . Large numbers of Oystercatchers could

be seen out on the waters edge and a 50+ flock of Brent Goose flew by to land on the Swale . Most striking thing along the track was the amount of Alexanders / Smyrnium olusatrum , a member of the Carrot family

that was on view , it was literally everywhere .
A look around Hutchinson's Bank , and meeting up with Martin , produced a couple of butterfly species on

the wing , being 4 Brimstone , including one female and two Small Tortoiseshell .
Up on the Greensand Ridge , after the initial emergence , things seem to have ground to a halt , with just 7 male Adders being seen . As usual at this time of year , the males gather together and bask in the sun , like

these four individuals . Three heads in the middle of the shot and the fourth middle right . Mind you , when

this one caught my scent , all four quickly disappeared . Also found on the visit were a few Common Lizard ,

including this individual which had lost the end of it's tail , and my first live Slow Worm of the year , having

found a dead one with puncture wounds last week .
Today , I did the Down House bird survey and recorded an above average 24 species . The only possible summer migrant was a singing Chiffchaff .

Sunday 13th. March 2016

A pictoral catch up on some recent outings .

At Bough Beech Reservoir , a male Pochard was more willing to pose this visit ,

but , just one Goosander was seen , a fine drake .

Whilst along the causeway , one of two Goldcrests stopped 'flitting about' for as short time .

The down House bird survey , with a Dunnock in full song in the formal gardens , produced 18 species , ith just one winter visitor , a single Fieldfare .

An early arrival at the empty car park at Sevenoaks Reserve , was rewarded with a small flock of Redwing ,

and just beyond the visitor centre , one of two noisy Jays .

Heading towards Willow Hide , the Grey Heron was low in it's nest , probably on eggs ,

but from Willow Hide , just 6 drake Shoveler , pretending to be ostriches .

On the other side of the East Lake , the pair of Reed Buntings both managed to get into the same frame .

A trip to Rainham Marshes on a grey day , was rewarded with a flock of Golden Plover from the first hide ,
several flyby sightings , without a stop , of 1/2 Kingfisher , and a most confiding male Stonechat that flew in

 and posed on a fence just a few metres away . An attempt to find a recently reported Firecrest at Chislehurst failed , but moving on to Scadbury Park LNR , another flock of Redwing were found feeding in a horse paddock , along with twoWagtails . Very mobile , I only managed one shot . The grey back and the

 black of the breast not joining the black of the head making it a possible White Wagtail ?

Under logs around a pond , several Smooth Newts were found . On the way home , a look around the

Common found the start of a Long-tail Tit nest , with the pair working hard . Fingers crossed !!
 Last Friday , a trip to Elmley Reserve in sunny but cool conditions , primarily to look for Brown Hare ,

started well with several Marsh Harriers being seen . A female was found on the ground , whilst a male was

searching for a meal along one of the many ditches . It proved a good day for raptors , with several Common

Buzzard , at least 2 Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk , that managed to put everything to flight when it passed

overhead . Eventually I got a few Hare sightings , but they were all distant , amongst long grass , and they

soon headed back into cover . A couple of moves of position , and I came across an individual lying out in

 the open and taking no notice of the camera . Another move and a wait , and another hopped it's way

towards the track , then stopped for a look around and a bit of a wash and brush up . Things then went very quiet , but little did I know what was to happen later . I went back to birding and passed another birder who told me that he had seen a Jack Snipe along the track the other day and that a Bittern was seen recently too . He showed me the exact area where the Jack had been seen , but there was no sign . I also searched even more carefully for the Bittern , but that wasn't found either . Other expected species were found , displaying

Lapwing , good numbers of Redshank , many being chased around by their partner and one pair was seen

 

 

mating . The sky was full of Skylark song , and they too were fully into the chasing game . For the

Oystercatchers , it wasn't so much chasing as marching side-by-side , whilst calling loudly , known as 'piping'

  , and not forgetting the Little Grebe , now resplendent in their breeding plumage . The 'moment' of the visit came as I made one last drive to the car park . As I approached the two right-angle bends before the hill to the car park , I spotted two Hares squaring up to each other on the other side of the ditch , still some distance away . They separated almost immediately , but one chased the other which then turned back . I was now some 20 meters from the pair and quickly reached for the camera . As I did so the two began 'boxing' and without checking settings , I just pointed and hit the shutter button . Fortunately , the camera was set on 'continuous shooting' , and in the next 3 seconds , which was as long as the contest lasted , I

managed 21 shots , before the pair spit up and disappeared into the vegetation . Result or what , I thought to myself . No sign of the Little Owl on my way out , but I didn't mind .
This morning , with the sun shining , but again cool , I made a visit to the Greensand Ridge to look for Adders , having made a couple recently without success . Today I was lucky , finding four freshly emerged

from hibernation males , two of which pictured . As can be seen , both had flattened their bodies to absorb as much warmth as possible from the sun . The new season is started , what will it bring ?